Seed Saving

In March 2020, when the first lockdown was announced, I soon realised I would not be able to cope with the increased number of orders that were coming in. I contacted Irish Seed Savers and some of my seedy friends in the UK and found out that we were all swamped. My daughter, Holly Cairns, had just been elected to the Dáil, and I hadn’t found a replacement for her. I couldn’t employ anyone else to work in the office with me, as it is a 3 x 7m cabin almost entirely stuffed with all that you need to run a seed business. So, in over 20 years of selling seeds, I had never worked so hard!

Global Shocks and Global Control. 

The combination of the pandemic and Brexit caused people to panic. They could no longer order seeds from the UK, nor could they go out to shop in a garden centre. Rather unfairly, supermarkets were allowed to sell seeds which increased their control of the food chain even further. It was a good rehearsal though, for climate and other global shocks, which are becoming more common and making seed availability scarce.  

Consolidation of the seed industry. 

Seed production for the world seed trade is concentrated in a few areas of the globe and there is no way of knowing where a packet of seed is produced, because country of origin labelling does not apply to seeds, the way it does to most agricultural products. So, it is not obvious that Irish Seed Savers Association and Brown Envelope Seeds are the only organisations selling exclusively Irish grown seeds.

Most seeds are grown in places with warm dry weather such as North Africa, New Zealand, South Africa and Israel, as well as the west coast of the US and southern Canada. For instance, over 90% of the worlds Brussel sprout seed is produced in the Olympic peninsula in Washington State. The number of seed companies is in decline as the larger ones consume the smaller ones.

It is important that Irish growers are not dependent on this global seed trade. 

Whilst I made a significant profit in 2020, I am also fast approaching retirement age. I thought it was important to put in place a platform that other seed savers can use, to place their seeds on the market. And so seedie.ie was born. Anyone can advertise their seeds there, so long as they promise they are germinating; they have not used chemicals; and that they grew them themselves. 

And I may come check this as soon as I get my bus pass!

Seed Saving Tips. 

1. Check if the plant you want to save the seeds from is self-pollinated or cross pollinated. If it is self-pollinated like peas or (most) tomatoes, you don’t need to worry about crossing.

2. If it cross-pollinated you need to make sure it is isolated, so there is no risk of cross-pollination. For example, a wind pollinated plant such as corn or beetroot needs to be isolated by a few miles, to be safe from cross pollination by another variety. Insect pollinated plants also need to be isolated, as bees can fly up to 5 miles!

3. A good tip to remember is that the plants that can cross pollinate (normally) have the same Latin name. So, celery and celeriac are both Apium graveolens and can cross, whereas onions are Allium cepa and leeks are Allium porrum, and though related, cannot cross. 

4. Some plants are biennial and so do not produce seeds in the first year. In the first year, carrots, onions, cabbages etc., produce a vegetable and if left in the ground, or re-planted, will flower and produce seed in the second year. 

5. Whilst some vegetables grow fine outdoors in Ireland, the Irish summer is not long enough to mature seeds outside. Lettuce, carrots, and onions tend to produce physically better seed in a polytunnel. However, genetically it may make sense to adapt them to outdoor conditions. 

6. Seeds need to be mature when they are harvested. It is obvious in something like wheat: When the seeds are ready, the plant and the seeds dry down and crisp, indicating that they are ready for harvest. In a fruit such as a courgette, however, it is less obvious; the shell of the fruit must be so hard that you cannot dent it with your fingernail. Tomato seeds are ripe when the fruit changes colour and advertises itself to the animal that might want to eat it. 

7. Storing seeds. Seeds need to be dry and cool to store well. Otherwise, they may become mouldy and loose viability. The bigger the seed, the longer it takes to dry. Peas and beans can be tested with a hammer. If they smush, they are not dry, if they shatter, they are dry. If you are not completely sure if seeds are dry it is best not to put them in an airtight container for some time.

8. Although seeds from Hybrids can be saved, the results will not be as predictable as from open-pollinated seeds. Hybrids are produced by inbreeding two distinct lines and then crossing them together. This first generation of seeds (F1) is very uniform and vigorous, as it has exactly one set of genes from each parent. However, compared to open-pollinated varieties, it has very little genetic plasticity and not as adaptable to new circumstances.

9. Cross pollinated seeds can inbreed, if a large enough population of plants are not used. For most that is about 100 - 200 plants. Inbred plants will have less vigour and may not be uniform. Try and grow at least 400 plants, rogue out any odd ones and only select the most vigorous plants to save seeds from.

10. Label everything. Label plants in the field with the variety name. Label seeds with the variety name and the year saved.